Enceladus and Titan: emerging worlds of the Solar System
- Author(s)
- James McKevitt, Ali Sulaiman, Nicholas Achilleos, Cesar Bertucci, Andrew Coates, Michele Dougherty, Lina Hadid, Mika Holmberg, Hsiang-Wen Hsu, Tomoki Kimura, William Kurth, Alice Le Gall, Michiko Morooka, Go Murakami, Leonardo Regoli, Elias Roussos, Joachim Saur, Oleg Shebanits, Anezina Solomonidou, Jan-Erik Wahlund, J. Hunter Waite
- Abstract
Some of the major discoveries of the recent Cassini-Huygens mission have put Titan and Enceladus firmly on the Solar System map. The mission has revolutionised our view of Solar System satellites, arguably matching their scientific importance with that of their host planet. While Cassini-Huygens has made big surprises in revealing Titan’s organically rich environment and Enceladus’ cryovolcanism, the mission’s success naturally leads us to further probe these findings. We advocate the acknowledgement of Titan and Enceladus science as highly relevant to ESA’s long-term roadmap, as logical follow-on to Cassini-Huygens. In this White Paper, we will outline important science questions regarding these satellites and identify the science themes we recommend ESA cover during the Voyage 2050 planning cycle. Addressing these science themes would make major advancements to the present knowledge we have about the Solar System, its formation, evolution, and likelihood that other habitable environments exist outside the Earth’s biosphere.
- Organisation(s)
- Department of Astrophysics
- External organisation(s)
- University College London, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), University of Iowa, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Imperial College London, École Polytechnique, Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (IRAP), University of Colorado, Boulder, Tokyo University of Science, Université de Versailles-Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, Swedish Institute of Space Physics, Johns Hopkins University, Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Universität zu Köln, California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Southwest Research Institute
- Journal
- Experimental Astronomy
- Volume
- 54
- Pages
- 849-876
- No. of pages
- 28
- ISSN
- 0922-6435
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s10686-021-09810-z
- Publication date
- 12-2021
- Peer reviewed
- Yes
- Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 103038 Space exploration
- Keywords
- ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Astronomy and Astrophysics, Space and Planetary Science
- Portal url
- https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/bbabca2e-f1cf-4568-80da-a8a10f8e4f13